Finland's country strategy for Ethiopia - 2021-2024 3.5.2021 Department for Africa and the Middle East
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FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
3.5.2021
Department for Africa
and the Middle East
Finland’s country
strategy for
Ethiopia
2021–2024
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
1FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
E X E CUT IV E S UM M AR Y
Finland and Ethiopia have a good and long-standing bilateral relationship. Decades of
cooperation have evolved into broader and more comprehensive partnerships
between Finland and Ethiopia, which now, in addition to development cooperation,
encompass political relations, trade as well as civil society activities. There is a
growing interest to consolidate, deepen and further diversify relations between the two
countries.
Ethiopia is currently in the midst of a transition led by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The transition provides opportunities for major reforms, but at the same time, it has
brought tensions to the fore, increasing the volatility of the country. Despite the
challenges remaining, Ethiopia has been one of the fastest growing economies in the
world, and it has seen important social and political developments. This offers
prospects to strengthen and further diversify relations between Finland and Ethiopia.
Finland´s partnership with Ethiopia in 2021-2024 will focus on the following four
strategic goals:
1. Mutually beneficial partnership between Finland and Ethiopia is
more diverse and profound. Finland seeks to maintain and strengthen
the close bilateral relations with Ethiopia, based on transparency and
trust, that allow for open dialogue on various issues, such as human
rights, gender and climate change. Finland also aims to diversify the
bilateral relations, by increasing, for example, economic and research
cooperation. Finland seeks to strenghten its cooperation with Ethiopia
also in multilateral forums.
2. Inclusive political and social transition of Ethiopia continues.
Finland supports Ethiopia’s democratic and social reforms to strenghten
peace, rule of law, human rights, tolerance and equality. The stable
development of Ethiopia is crucial for the stability of the entire Horn of
Africa .
3. More inclusive, sustainable and environment friendly private sector
led economic growth. Finland supports Ethiopia in the implementation
of economic reforms, so that the private sector led economic growth is
inclusive and environmentally sustainable as well as alleviates poverty
and creates decent jobs.
4. Institutional transformation in Ethiopia advances reforms and
provision of services. Finland supports Ethiopia in building strong and
accountable institutions in order to deliver accessible, inclusive and
climate-resilient services of good quality to all.
2FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
Key means of achieving the strategic goals are active political dialogue both at
bilateral and multilateral level, including sector policy dialogue, EU cooperation,
development cooperation, increased economic cooperation, Team Finland work and
private sector instruments as well as institutional cooperation and capacity building of
institutions and civil society actors. Finland´s Country Strategy for the years 2021-
2024 promotes, as cross-cutting themes, human rights as well as participation of
women, persons with disabilities and other persons in vulnerable positions and
situations. A separate Country Programme guides and monitors the delivery of
specific Impact Areas of development cooperation, which feed into the larger strategic
objectives identified in the Country Strategy.
The Country Strategy is supported by Finland’s comprehensive Africa strategy and
EU-Africa strategy, which guide the development of Finland’s ties with African
countries.
3FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
1 COUNTRY CONTEXT
Ethiopia today is a country in transition. After a prolonged period of public protests,
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April 2018. The civic space was opened up,
political prisoners were released and previously exiled groups were welcomed back.
The political reform process was accompanied by new laws regarding civil society
organizations, elections, anti-terrorism and hate speech.
The widening political space has allowed ethnic and political tensions to come to the
fore. The increased polarization of politics is causing division and violence, as clashes
with an ethnic, and sometimes religious, dimension take place. A growing divide
between those who promote pan-ethiopianism – embodied by Prime Minister Abiy’s
vision of medemer (togetherness or synergy) – and those who favor ethno-nationalism
increases the instability in the country. The current military conflict between the
federal government and the Tigray regional government is a poignant example of the
political division within the country. In the 2020 Fragile State Index Ethiopia ranks 21 st
out of 178 countries.
Parties of the conflict in Tigray have been accused of serious human rights violations
including sexual and gender based violence, killings of civilians and looting. Human
rights violations in Ethiopia are often related to (ethnic) clashes and the breakdown of
law and order. In Ethiopia, there are also reports of arbitrary arrests, excessive use of
force, intimidation of opposition groups as well as ethnically targeted measures and
even mass killings.
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened political tensions, as the highly anticipated
elections were postponed, causing the parliament to resolve the ensuing
constitutional crisis by extending the incumbent’s term. In June 2020, the
assassination of a popular Oromo singer and activist caused large-scale unrest and
violence followed by mass arrests. These tensions highlight the complexity and
volatility of the transition process and risk increasing the political division. The
postponed elections are to take place latest by early September 2021. The
international community, including Finland, is providing support to the election
process.
In the transition process, women have been promoted to high-ranking positions in
society. For the first time, Ethiopia has a female president, and at the outset half of
Abiy’s cabinet was female. Nevertheless, women continue to be underrepresented in
4FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
the political sphere and much remains to be done to improve women’s social, political
and economic rights.
Ethiopia today is a young country – over 70 percent of the population is below 30
years old. Already the second largest country in Africa with a population of more than
110 million people, the population is expected to double by 2050. Every year, about
three million young people enter the labor market, putting pressure on the government
to create jobs. Although there is a constant influx of people to the capital, almost 80
percent of the population lives in the countryside. With more than 80 ethnic groups,
huge geographical variations and diverse economic and social development, regional
disparity is a critical issue.
During the past decade, Ethiopia has been among the fastest growing economies in
the world, with an average annual GDP growth of about 10 percent. Due to Covid-19,
however, the latest IMF projection for real GDP growth for 2020 is only 1.9 percent.
The country’s target is to become a lower middle-income country by 2025. That said,
however, the Ethiopian economy faces challenges such as increasing debt, minimal
exports and a shortage of foreign exchange, lack of financing for companies and poor
infrastructure. In the past year, inflation rates hit records, and particularly the high
food inflation burdened households.
Whilst previously growth was largely due to public investment, the government now
seeks to increase the role of the private sector. In order to deal with the
macroeconomic and structural challenges, as well as to revitalise the most important
sectors of the economy, the government launched its Homegrown Economic Reform
Plan in September 2019. In January 2020, Ethiopia resumed discussions to join the
WTO.
Ethiopia has also seen social development, as exemplified by a significant reduction
in poverty, improved life expectancy and more than halved child mortality. The
national poverty rate (1.95 USD per day) has declined from 30% of the population in
2011 to 24% in 2016. The World Poverty Clock estimates that the rate is 22% in 2020.
At the same time, many Ethiopians do not fully enjoy their social and economic rights.
In the latest Human Development Index, Ethiopia ranks 173rd out of 189 countries.
Ethiopia is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic
exacerbates the humanitarian and socio-economic challenges and weakens the
economic growth. Combined with recent crises such as the desert locust infestations
5FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
and floods and drought, food insecurity is on the rise. In total, it is estimated that some
26 million Ethiopians could be in need of some form of assistance in 2021.
The combination of climate change and conflict has resulted in a large amount of
internally displaced people. Although the number is contested, the UN currently puts
the number at around 2.7 million. Ethiopia also hosts more than 800.000 refugees
from its neighbors. Ethiopia is a country of origin, transit and destination for migration
flows.
The Horn of Africa is a region of strong geopolitical interests. There is a global
competition for ports, military bases and economic influence in the region. Access to
the Red Sea and its ports is essential to Ethiopia. As a traditionally stabilizing force in
the Horn of Africa, the internal development of Ethiopia affects the whole region.
Currently, one of the most pressing regional diplomatic challenges is the dispute
around the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Ethiopia has earlier played a central role in supporting regional integration and is
currently holding the position of the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental
Authority of Development (IGAD). Addis Ababa is the diplomatic capital of Africa, with
the headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa based in the city. Ethiopia has acceded to the African Continental Free
Trade Agreement.
EU has a strategic engagement with Ethiopia and its development cooperation in
Ethiopia is one of the largest in the world, 815 MEUR for 2014-2020 in the fields of
sustainable agriculture and food security, climate change, health care and
infrastructure as well as support to reform processes. China is an important actor in
Etiopia as approximately half of Ethiopia’s external debt is to China, and it has
invested some 1.1 billion USD in Ethiopia. Other important partners are the US, UK,
Turkey and the Gulf states.
The development of Ethiopia is uncertain. Given the current level of volatility and
division within the society, increasing instability, threat of fragmentation and
weakening of the federal state cannot be ignored. The current conflict in Tigray has
had serious ramifications for the country and the region. In the best of scenarios, the
political and economic reforms will continue, accompanied by strong investments in
human development and a conscious effort to include all ethnic and political
groupings in shaping the future of the country. Cessation of armed conflict, inclusive
national dialogue as well as political dialogue and willingness to reach consensus are
essential.
6FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
2 FINLAND’S RELATIONS WITH
ETHIOPIA
Long-standing relations between Finland and Ethiopia are good and based on mutual
trust and respect. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in
1959. Ethiopia is one of Finland´s long-term partners in development cooperation as
bilateral development cooperation was initiated already in 1967.
In 2019, Ethiopia was the biggest recipient of Finland´s development funding in Africa.
Finland´s support to Ethiopia is focused on three sectors fundamental to sustainable
development: rural economic development, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) as
well as inclusive basic education. Finland’s development cooperation, especially in
the WASH sector, made it possible for Finland to quickly react and support the fight
against the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia. New instruments, such as the Public
Sector Investment Facility (PIF), bring more opportunities for private sector
cooperation.
Decades of development cooperation have evolved into broader and more
comprehensive partnerships encompassing political relations, trade, civil society
activities as well as cooperation between universities and research institutions. There
is a growing interest to consolidate, deepen and further diversify relations between the
two countries.
Trade and economic cooperation between Finland and Ethiopia has remained modest
but the countries are willing to expand their current commercial relations. Economic
relations are fostered through the Team Finland network. There is an untapped
potential in bilateral trade and investments. In Ethiopia, Finland is well known for its
high-tech innovative systems as well as expertise, and there is a considerable interest
in cooperating with Finnish companies. Similarly, Ethiopia is interested in bringing, for
instance, coffee and flowers to the Finnish market.
There is a great number of Finnish faith-based and other non-governmental
organizations who have a long history in operating in Ethiopia. They work in different
fields, such as peacebuilding and reconciliation, rights of all women and girls and
persons with disabilities. Moreover, Finland fosters institutional cooperation, supports
the development of civil society and provides humanitarian assistance. Finland also
uses Funds for Local Cooperation (FLCs) to support local civil society organizations.
In Ethiopia, Finland is working closely with diverse partners and stakeholders. As a
member of the European Union and as part of the Nordics, Finland participates in joint
7FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
EU and Nordic efforts on various issues, in Ethiopia and in the region. Finland is also
an active member of the UN family and cooperates with various UN organizations,
such as the UNDP, in Ethiopia.
8FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
3 FINLAND’S STRATEGIC GOALS
Strategic goal I:
Mutually beneficial partnership between Finland and Ethiopia is closer and more
diverse
Finland wants to maintain and strenghten close bilateral political relations with
Ethiopia, allowing open dialogue on issues, such as human rights, gender or climate
change. The means include bilateral political consultations, in-country bilateral
discussions and visits of official delegations.
Finland aims to partner with Ethiopia on common challenges, such as climate change,
COVID-19 and migration, both bilaterally and at international forums. Cooperation in
multilateral forums provides also an opportunity to to promote joint objectives, such as
gender, equality and green transition. Ethiopia has an active role internationally; at the
African Union, the United Nations as well as regionally. Finland supports international
dialogue at such forums, focusing on themes, such as peace and security in the Horn
of Africa.
The cornerstone of the partnership is the long-standing bilateral development
cooperation, which is based on the SDGs, the national strategies and plans of
Ethiopia, and Finnish development policies. Finland also contributes to the
international response to the humanitarian crises, and promotes the triple nexus
between peacebuilding, development cooperation and humanitarian access.
Additionally, Finland supports non-governmental forms of cooperation. Finnish faith-
based and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), continue to pursue their
long-term cooperation with their Ethiopian counterparts. Through the FLC, Finland
supports Ethiopian NGOs’ work, for instance, to strengthen the rights of all women
and girls and persons with disabilities.
Finland seeks to diversify bilateral relations with Ethiopia and strengthen for example,
commercial ties and cooperation between universities and research institutions. The
cooperation will be supported by e.g. Finnish private sector and institutional
cooperation instruments which complement bilateral governmental programmes.
Team Finland, in collaboration with Business Finland, promotes trade and investment
9FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
between Ethiopia and Finland. Finnish and Ethiopian companies are encouraged to
cooperate on commercial terms.
Strategic goal II:
Inclusive political and social transition of Ethiopia continues
Finland supports Ethiopia’s political and social reforms and aims to contribute to the
reform processes, so that ultimately peace, rule of law, human rights, tolerance and
equality would prevail in all parts of the country. Profound changes require support by
the international community.
Finland actively engages in political dialogue between Ethiopia and the EU. Through
the EU-Ethiopia Strategic Engagement and the Article 8 discussions, common ground
has been established for the EU Member States to support the democratization
process. Finland is a member of the Development Partners Group (DPG) and takes
an active stance in the UN system and in the international financing institutions (IFIs)
by maintaining regular dialogue both at Headquarters and in-country level. Where
necessary, Finland jointly with Ethiopian counterparts, takes a leading role at DPG
sector- and sub-committees.
Through active participation in the Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
and Rural Economic Development (RED) sector policy dialogues, Finland contributes
to the sector policies becoming more equitable and inclusive, resilient and based on
human rights. Development cooperation responds to basic service provision and
improved livelihoods for all, contributing to economically and environmentally
sustainable and peaceful co-existence of different groups. Community participation is
key to ensure that the needs and provisions match, and the solutions are sustainable
and manageable by the beneficiaries. Empowering the people at the community level
is part of the political and social transition process.
Credible elections anchor the political transition and provide the basis for future
progress. Finland provides elections support through the Supporting Elections for
Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening (SEEDS) project headed by the UNDP, activities
of Demo Finland, a co-operative organization of all the Finnish parliamentary parties,
and through financing of civic and voters’ education by local NGOs. Finland also
provides financial support to international NGOs which, for example, support peace
reconciliation and human rights defenders.
A stable Ethiopia is an important condition for peace and stability in the wider Horn of
Africa region. If the democractic and economic transition succeeds, Ethiopia can act
as a role model to neighboring countries. Ethiopia’s constructive role in regional
10FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
cooperation and integration as well as in bilateral relations is of importance. Finland
supports peaceful solutions to internal and regional disputes bilaterally as well as
through the EU and the international community..
Strategic goal III:
More inclusive and sustainable private sector led economic growth
The private sector should become the engine of economic growth. At present, private
sector development is stymied by, for example, macro-economic imbalances, debt
and shortage of skilled labor. Finland supports the Government of Ethiopia in the
implementation of the economic reforms, including opening of key enabling sectors
such as telecommunications and energy. These sectors have the potential to
increase private investment and trade, including with Finland.
Finland deems indispensable that economic growth is inclusive and environmentally
sustainable, enhances climate resilience and low emission development. Equally
important, it alleviates poverty and creates decent jobs particularly in the rural areas
for the young people and women. Safeguards, such as improved access to land and
credit especially in the rural areas, are needed to protect the poor from the effects of
the liberalization.
Finland promotes these goals through the EU dialogue with Ethiopia, the EU
Business Forum for Ethiopia (EUBFE), and through discussions in International
Financing Institutions (IFIs), which seek to develop an enabling environment for
economic cooperation. In political dialogues, Finland promotes issues pertaining to
the improvement of the business environment in Ethiopia.
Finland’s development cooperation with Ethiopia includes elements of private sector
development. Finland has two on-going programmes, in agribusiness and in land
administration, which support smallholder farmers’ access to livelihood and quality
jobs. Moreover, Finland utilizes private sector support instruments, such as Finnfund,
Finnpartnership, the Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) and the Developing
Markets Platform (DevPlat).
Contacts between Finnish and Ethiopian private sector operators should not be
limited to Finnish private sector support instruments; trade and investment should
increasingly take place on commercial terms. In addition to telecommunication and
energy, themes of particular interest to Finland include green economy and
11FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
digitalization, as well as WASH, agriculture and education, where synergies are
sought between development cooperation and economic cooperation.
Strategic goal IV:
Institutional transformation in Ethiopia advances reforms and provision of services.
The Government of Ethiopia is committed to build strong and accountable institutions
to advance the democratic and economic reforms as well as to deliver accessible,
inclusive and climate-resilient services of good quality to all. Progress has been
made, but there is room for improvement both at instutions in charge of the
democratic reforms and in equity, inclusiveness and accessibility of the services.
COVID-19 causes additional challenges for the provision of services, as does the
rapid demographic growth and climate change. Finland seeks to support Ethiopia to
Build Back Better and Greener (BBBG) with institutional and technical capacity
building. The division of responsibilities between the public and private sector and the
civil society is evolving in Ethiopia. Thus, capacity building is not limited to public
sector but encompasses different types of organizations, including private sector
entities and community-based organizations.
Issues related to institutional capacity are discussed in multilateral, bilateral and
sector policy dialogues. Finland participates in these dialogues providing experience
and knowledge in political, economic or social domains. Finland’s expertise is applied
to institutional capacity building activities in bilateral development cooperation, for
example, in the joint efforts of the Ethiopian authorities and the donor community to
develop a quality public education system. Finland promotes the integration of Finnish
approaches and models in the sector policies and programmes. Expertise and
technical knowledge has been Finland’s niche in success stories, such the
development of the rural land management and registration system. Finland has also
been successful in leveraging financial and technical resources from the Government
of Ethiopia and other donors to upscale the application of the systems and
methodologies, which have been initially developed with Finnish assistance. This
continues to be one of the key features in the cooperation between Finland and
Ethiopia.
In all political and policy dialogues, Finland emphasizes the empowerment of all
women and girls and persons with disabilities, as well as the inclusion of their specific
12FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
needs in the policies and service provision. In development cooperation, this is
pursued both through mainstreaming and by implementing targeted projects.
Finland supports local CSOs through the FLC and through NGO cooperation. Finland
may also use twinning programmes, such as the Institutional Cooperation Instrument
(ICI) and the Higher-Education Institutional Cooperation Instrument (HEI-ICI), for
institutional capacity building. The PIF instrument may be utilized to support
investment in Ethiopian public sector institutions. The DevPlat is a new tool to finance
joint projects of Finnish and Ethiopian companies, research institutions and NGOs.
13FINLAND’S COUNTRY STRATEGY FOR ETHIOPIA 2021–2024
4 IMPLEMENTATION AND
MONITORING
The country team in the Department for Africa and the Middle East of the MFA and
the Embassy are in charge of the implementation of the Country Strategy. This is
done in close collaboration with Departments/Units in charge of different instruments
and activities identified under each strategic objective. While the country team is
responsible for coordinating country level activities, other Departments/Units keep
country teams informed and involve them in discussions as well as activities relevant
to the strategic goals. Country team will hold regular country dialogues with relevant
Departments/Units within MFA and with stakeholders outside the MFA that are active
in the country to discuss the implementation of the Country Strategy. Other
stakeholders outside the MFA are encouraged to have dialogues with the country
teams on the ways they can contribute to the strategic goals in each country.
The Embassy and the team as a whole are providing analysis on the implementation
of the strategy as part of their regular reporting. The implementation of the Country
Strategy is reviewed in the annual discussions with the Ambassador. Possible
updates are agreed based on the annual discussions by the leadership of the
Regional Department.
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